Our Kind of Love
by dreamchaser31
Summary: A story about William and Elizabeth as they go through life's trials. Love, romance, laughter,and tears to ensure. From planning a wedding, to family issues, and jobs. Modern day set in America/
1. Chapter 1

"Elizabeth Cathrinn Bennet! Get down here this minute!" A furious Will Darcy said as he sat his briefcase and coat on the dining room table of their three bedroom condo.  
>He had not had a good day and the phone call he had just gotten five minutes ago did not make matters better. "I am NOT taking ballroom dancing classes for this wedding Lizzy, so you can call your mother and tell her that it is not happening!"<p>Elizabeth Bennet soon to be Darcy, she hoped, flinched at the tone of his voice but was not unearved. She was used to his yelling like this, and probably was the only person in the world that could stand being around him when he was in this kind of mood. She stood at the top of the stairs with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. She knew her mother would call William before she had a chance to tell him, so she was expecting this. "William the class is tomorrow, and it's already scheduled,"<br>she stated calmy while moving down the stairs slowly. "And stop yelling, Georgiana is trying to study for her SAT's."

"Well tell her to UNschedule it," not quieting his voice at all. "Better yet send Charles, he's always wanted to take one. Not me."

"Will," she replied with authority, "Charles is already married, and besides this is for OUR wedding! He took classes for his when he and Jane got married."

"Charles took those classes," he asked in disbelief, "Charlie Bingley took ballroom dancing classes for his wedding?"

"Yes he took classes and he rather enjoyed them."

"I'm not taking classes Elizabeth," was his retort, "you know I don't like to dance, and it's my wedding too, so I should get a say in this."

"If I remember correctly, Will Darcy, you relienquished all control of the wedding planning to me two days into the planning because you didn't want to put up with my mother."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to bow to you and your mother's every whim for this thing!"

"Oh, but it does." Elizabeth replied with a smirk as she walked to the refridgerator to grab a bottle of water. "I can't wait to see you in one of those cute little shirts that are open in the front," she said as she slowly walked her fingers up his chest. She reached up and gave his tie a little tug then thumped his nose as she turned around and reached for her cell phone. "Besides it's not like anybody you know is going to be there."

"Ya just your mother and sister and her video camera!" Elizabeth's mother had insisted on filming every aspect of planning this wedding from cake tasting to dress fittings, so she could make a video to play during the reception and dance after the wedding.

"Oh it's not so bad," she said calmly, "it's like living in our own reality t.v. show." At his returning glare she waivered a little. "Ok it's horrible, but I really want to have a special first dance, and I've seen you dance William James Darcy, you're no Fred Astaire."

He sat at the table with a sigh, "I know you want it to be special, I want it to be special too. But you're not understanding the consequences if I take this dance class. Richard is one of them."

She laughed thinking about her fiance's comedian of a cousin. He had a love-hate relationship with Will and loved to tease him. They were the female equivalent of the term 'frenemies.'

"Richard is going to find a way to make fun of you regardless, Will," she replied picking up her water bottle and taking a sip. "So now that this conversation is over i've got a dinner meeting with Jane to go over some fabrics for a dress i'm designing for her." Grabbing the keys to her Lexus off the counter.

"Elizabeth, this conversation is not over," he stated as he got up from his seat.

"Tell Georgiana I'll see her tomorrow," she replied ignoring his statement.

"Elizabeth, you're not listening to me," he added with desperation in his voice.

"Make sure you e-mail our engagement pictures to my father," she said grabbing her jacked from the entryway.

"Lizzy, you're not listening to me!"

"His new e-mail address is is taped to the computer screen," she went on. "Oh and don't forget you're supposed to have lunch with him tomorrow."

"Lizzy, I'm not taking those classes!" He knew that if he didn't stop her he would be screwed.

"There is a cobbler on the stove that's cooling down, I don't care what you do for supper."

"Listen-"

"I love you and I'll see you later."

"Lizzy,"

She reached up and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"This doesn't mean that I-"

"Gotta run!"

"Lizzy!"

"Bye, see you later, baby!"

The door closed behind her in a blur. She was gone.

"Damnit!"  
> <p>


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to Jane Austen, except Emma, and any other random character I decide to throw in. All places in this story are meant to be purely fictional unless otherwise noted. Thanks for reading!**

"Ok Will," said one highly amused Georgiana Darcy. "Either we hire another housekeeper or you learn how to cook," she said while waving a hand in front of her face to clear the smoke that had filled the room. "Seriously Lizzie is going to have a kick out of this," she laughed. "Why didn't you just order take out?" She walked to the wall and picked up the phone off the receiver. "Do you want Chinese or Thai?"

"I can cook," he replied defensively as he threw the scorched pan in the sink and ran some water, forgetting that the pan was hot and burning his hand in the process. "Damnit, ouch that's hot!"

"You've been saying that a lot tonight," she teased, into the fridge to get the bottle of aloe Vera. "William Darcy, you can't boil water!" She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the table, and assisted him with putting the cool gel over his hand. She took her BlackBerry and sent a speedy text to Lizzie.

Elizabeth covered her mouth for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, to hide the laughter that was fast overcoming her. The Italian restaurant they chose that night was a long-time favorite of the girls, dating back to when they first came to the city as fresh face girls from high-school. Not to mention it was small, close and convenient, only blocks from both their condos. She and Jane were frequent visitors to the place for their weekly dinners to catch up. Once a week was never enough time for the two sisters to be with each other in their opinion. They were best friends and the sisterly bond they shared growing up was only stronger as they got older.

Jane who is twenty-five had blonde hair and blue-green eyes. She wasn't tall by any means, but she wasn't short either. Her personality was her best trait. Kind and generous to a fault, she never had a negative thing to say. She found the good in everyone. She didn't know her own power over people sometimes. Men were especially affected around her. If it wasn't the occasional glance as she walked by it was pouring a cold glass of water in her lap on accident when she gave them a smile. And even when that did happen she was too kind to even get angry, brushing it off as an accident every time. Needless to say that this wasn't the first time she got a glass of water in her lap.

Elizabeth was opposite of her sister in the looks category. If Jane was the all-American girl next door, Lizzie was exotic. Their Italian roots seemed settle more in Elizabeth than all of her sister combined. She was tall; taller than Jane, when she stood she was almost six feet, mostly all leg. She had long, dark hair with her grandmothers hazel eyes and an olive complexion. It was easy to see how she had gotten a contract with a modeling agency at the tender age of sixteen. She was spunky and spoke her mind as her sister couldn't. Though she wasn't modeling anymore, she quit after college, to use her degree in interior design, and had some major clients. Her husband-to-be being one of them. Though Lizzie was kind, and never meant to hurt anybody willfully, she was also human and like her father took great pleasure in the ridiculous. Ergo the poor waiter was fast becoming a new target for her sarcastic humor; she was trying her hardest to not speak right now. 'Dinner and a show,' she thought with a smile.

They were used to this kind of display, the both of them. Jane was more used to it than Lizzie though, probably because her personality was more open than her younger sisters, her face more welcoming to strangers. Jane was the type of person who you never knew what she was thinking. Lizzie emotions played clearly on her face. She preferred her down-to-earth as a pediatrician at the local children's hospital, and was fast becoming well known. Only recently was she becoming used to the upscale choices her career and her husband's wealth had to offer. She has been married for two years to Charles Wilson Bingley, and the two couldn't be happier. Eight months ago she gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Emma Grace.

Elizabeth had no regrets at signing that modeling contract at sixteen. Though it did interfere with her teenage years, she had to miss her prom because she had to be in Athens, it helped her escape reality. It also helped to pay the bills her mothers' alimony checks didn't cover. Her mother was always spending money outside her means. Though her family wasn't poor, they had money, her mother always overspent. The modeling also helped pay for college. She still modeled some for magazines on the sides, the jobs kept on coming.

The waiter was trying to stutter another apology to her older sister, when she had heard enough. "Seriously dude, she's fine. Just get her another glass of water so we can eat." And that was that, he turned around and went into the kitchen leaving one highly embarrassed and the other sister highly amused.

Jane turned to her sister with a smile. "Have you picked a designer for your dress yet Lizzie," she asked, the waiter incident clearly forgotten.

'Forgive and forget,' Lizzie thought, typical Jane. "I'm still thinking Vera, but I haven't completely decided," she replied still amused, taking a sip of her water. She gave a little laugh and a toss of her head. "I'm not worried," she said. "I still have enough time. Mother on the other hand wants me to go with Marchesa."

"You'll look gorgeous in anything, Lizzie," Jane's opinion, an honest one. Jane rarely said anything less than honest. The waiter placed a new glass of water on the table in front of her, offered a shaky bow with his head, and walked away.

"Thanks," said Elizabeth. "How's my beautiful niece," she asked while responding to a text the Georgiana had just sent her. "Apparently Will burnt dinner again," she laughed and hit the send button in her BlackBerry. "Maybe mother can get him into a cooking class or two before the wedding. She's already got a dance class scheduled."

"Emma is fine, growing like a weed," Jane replied with the same smile she always got when talking about her eight month old. "She's getting another tooth though," her smile turned into a frown as she took a bite of her Alfredo. "Nothing too hard to handle," she smiled. "Will is actually going to go through with the dance class?"

"Yep." Elizabeth took a bite of her spaghetti. "I won that argument just before I came here," twirling her spaghetti around her plate she continued. "Should be an interesting day."

The rest of the night was spent talking about Jane and Charles beautiful baby and the thought of one William James Darcy putting on his dancing shoes the next afternoon.

**Thanks for reading! I appreciate the support as I continue. If you like send a review. I'm always up for a little positive (or negative) reinforcement.**


	3. Chapter 3

Friday afternoon at his lunch appointment, John Benet was eating his sandwich and listening to his future son-in-law with great amusement. His daughter had been right, Will really did have a flair for the dramatic, but in this situation, John completely understood. "She wants you to take a dance class," he asked incredulously. "Really, my Lizzie?" He took out of his cup in front of him. "That doesn't sound like her." He raised his eyebrows and sat his cup down.

"It's not her," Will responded. "I know it's not." His sandwich had not been touched. He had been venting his frustration for the full fifteen minutes they had been at the small sub shop on the corner of Holyoak and Central. It was good to talk to John. Over the past two years since he had started to date Elizabeth, besides Charles and Dustin, John Benet had been a close ally. John had always been there to help William navigate the shark infested waters that were the Benet women and one woman in particular. The mother. "It's Emily," he continued. "She's been on a high since the day that I put a ring on Lizzie's finger. I'm sorry but this is too much."

"Hey I'm totally in agreement with you there. Lizzie's just trying to appease her mother," John finished.

Emily Johnson, also known as the esteemed John Benet's first wife was well known. Mostly for the amount of times she went under the knife, but also for ridiculously over extravagant. She loved diamonds, and make-up, and could never have too much crystal. She was way over the top every day of her life. She lived everyday as if she was in her own personal soap opera.

Elizabeth had fought all of her life to win the favor of her mother, to no avail. And the idea of Elizabeth letting her mother control her wedding day, John couldn't take.

Elizabeth Cathrinn Benet had always been his special little girl. He loved all of his children but everybody knew that Lizzie held a special place in his heart just for her. Maybe it was a circumstance of her birth. She'd been a twin, but when Emily had been five months along she had a miscarriage. A routine ultrasound after the miscarriage had revealed one heartbeat when there had been two last week. The news was a blessing from God, for John who knew the statistics of a child surviving an ordeal such as that in the womb. Nevertheless John held his breath until the day he heard the most beautiful sound in the world, the sound of his infant daughter crying as she took her first breath.

Elizabeth had been a constant reminder to Emily of the infant lost that she would never be able to meet. Only when Elizabeth started coming into money did Emily turn her favor to her in the least bit.

Maybe the reason she was so special was the way she looked so much like his beloved mother, even as an infant, her dark, curly hair, and her eyes, the way the held his with so much trust and the unconditional love a child.

Elizabeth's first word had been daddy, and rightfully so. She was the darling of his heart.

All of his girls were definitely 'daddy's girls,' no doubt about it. Their love of school, much to their mothers dismay, and were constantly at his ranch riding horses with him. Emily found the three youngest Benet daughters to be her favorites and spoiled them to no end. He, however, cherished them as best he could, even when he knew they needed so much more.

Every time he thought of the divorce, it was like stabbing him with a knife in the stomach. He had tried to make it work, he really had. Especially for his five young daughters, but once bitten twice shy. He couldn't stay in the household any longer. And although he was now happily re-married, Emily would always hold a little place in his heart. She had given him the most precious things in his life, his beautiful girls.

Jordan Lani, also known as Jane, was named for his mother Lani. Elizabeth Cathrinn carried his grandmother's name. After her Madison Rae, Kaitlyn Briana, and Lexie Jo followed. He loved all of them so much. Six years ago God blessed him with Dustin and Olivia, and little Jacob was born two years ago. Eight kids in all, eight very different kids.

The divorce had forced his daughters to grow up much too soon, in his opinion; though he did everything he could to prevent it. Jane had been seventeen at the time making the others fifteen, fourteen, twelve, and ten respectively. Jane took a job as a candy stripper, volunteering at the local hospital where John himself worked as an attending physician. She spent so much time there, even after hours, raising the spirits of the residents, and getting some much needed quiet time away from her fool of a mother.

Elizabeth signed with a talent agency out of Indianapolis, who had been trying to get her to sign since she was thirteen. They had come every month for the time between the ages of thirteen to then, and to no avail failed to convince her to sign with them. She just didn't want to. When he got the call that told him she was finally going to sign, his heart broke. And before he signed his name allowing his consent for the minor in his care to start modeling through them, he tried to convince her not to, but her mind had been made up, her mother's constant nervous episodes, worse since the divorce, finally wearing on his witty and stubborn Italian tempered daughter.

Madison had nightmares, and as much as her mother favored her, she begged him every day to let her come live with him. John wanted nothing more to take all of his daughters to come live with him, he couldn't uproot their lives any farther than possible. He lived on the other side of town, they would've had to change schools, make new friends, and he felt that they needed a sense of normalcy in their lives.

Kaitlyn talked to him every night, and when Lizzie bought her first car she was at his upscale, six bedroom townhouse everyday it seemed. It was then that he decided to move his three middle daughters in with him. In the divorce he had been giving residential custody of them, so Emily could not argue with him in that matter. Jane was in college at the time in Indiana, and Lexie was doing well with her mother, and seemed to remain unaffected. She spent her weekends with them.

Lexie, he knew, was not biologically his, but she was still his baby, and treated her as his own.

When he wasn't busy with his girls, helping Jordan with biology exam or Lizzie manage her decidedly hectic schedule. Madison had her piano recitals, and Kate loved volleyball and basketball. Lexie made the varsity cheerleading squad. He was there for all his girls, as much as he could be. He spent a lot of his time at the hospital where he worked. He loved his job and it was there that he met Cora. Cora Williams was a newly hired Registered Nurse on the pediatric floor. Newly divorced herself, she had moved to Chicago to start new. With her she brought her son, who was Jane's age, Dustin, and Olivia, who was a little older then Lizzie. Dustin had been majoring in Psychology at NYU and transferred to the local college here to be with his mother, and continue his education. A year later knowing she was ok he transferred to the University of Kansas, to finish up his studies. Olivia was a star student, like Lizzie, and valued her education dearly, she could most always be found at the library.

His children became fast friends with them and they loved each other as only brothers and sisters could. John and Cora were united in marriage on a beach in Hawaii, with only their seven combined children their as witnesses.

Cora loved his girls as he loved her children, and the kids had no trouble at all calling their new parents mom and dad. She fast became the calm to the girls' otherwise chaotic lifestyle, much do to their mother.

They all loved each other and respected the circumstances that lead them to becoming a family.

John took another bite of his sandwich and swallowed. Elizabeth wasn't her mother's child and he would be damned if he let Emily ruin her special. His mind was brought back to a conversation a year earlier he had with her. "All I really want to do is go to Vegas," she had said as she looked up at the stars. "But I know how important it is for the family to be there." Of course he wanted to be there, to give away his beloved daughter to the man who she would spend the rest of her life with. But he knew if these elaborate plans continued she wouldn't be happy. That was the most important thing for him.

He wanted her to be happy.

Elizabeth had done so much for Emily. She paid her bills when Emily's alimony ran out much too soon every month. Elizabeth shouldn't have to risk her day for her mother.

"William," he started, he drew in a big sigh and continued. "Take the rest of the day off. Go home pack you two a couple of overnight bags, and take her to Vegas. That's all she's ever wanted. She's never been one for the dramatic." He folded his napkin and put it on his plate. "I can't stand to see her special day with you ruined by an overdramatic, attention-hungry mother."

William who had already considered that idea, but quickly shot it down, until now he couldn't even fathom marrying Elizabeth without her family present. Now though considering the circumstances the idea of her being his wife by the end of the day was appealing to him.

John knew he was about to argue against it, and he knew the reason why. Her family was important to him. There was nothing lacking in Will's moral character. "You have my total consent. Cora and I will throw you a reception on Sunday when you get home. We'll get the whole family there, yours too. It'll be exactly what she's wanted since she met you." He gave William a pat on the back as they walked to the front of the café to pay the bill.

Three hours later Will sat with Elizabeth in their first-class seats getting ready for take-off.

Elizabeth was completely ignoring the dozen texts asking why they weren't at the dance studio yet from her mother. Sighing she turned off her phone and laid her head on Will's shoulder, the exhaustion of over-indulgent wedding plans fast in her past.

**So I wrote this chapter last night, and the first draft was so much longer, so I made some cuts and decided to put them in a future chapter. This chapter covers much of Elizabeth's past through the eyes of her father. Mr. Benet has always been a character that I've always been a big fan of, basically because of the way he loves his daughters. I wanted him to be more of an open book for my story because I want to explore his thoughts and figure out why he does what he does.**

**I modernized most of the girls' names and even Mrs. Benet's, so I hope that the characters are recognizable. I hope you guys like it and continue with me on this Modern journey for Elizabeth. I'm going to try to post updates often. If you like, drop a review. **

**Disclaimer all of them belong to Jane Austen; Baby Emma, Cora, Dustin, and Olivia are mine.**


End file.
